Aren't All We Seem
by dragoscilvio
Summary: Angst, family fluff and hurt/comfort. This is where you will find stories, snapshots and moments normally seen in the Avengers Household among the family.
1. Avengers Assembleliterally

**Hello! My name is Dragoscilvio, and I'm a writer for various animes including One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fairy Tail and the movie Rise of the Guardians.**

 **I love Avengers and have read their comic books and enjoyed the cartoons since I was young. I hope you enjoy this Drabble series!**

Avengers tower, it was a warm summer day though the heat had apparently become a little too much as it drove even the most stalwart of warriors into the comfort of the air conditioned training room.

Steve practiced with his shield while Natasha bounced around the room playing a unique version of tag with their archer. Hawkeye perched high up in the rafters, aiming each arrow with a critical eye as he studied the widow's movements. She knew as well as he did that he was missing her on purpose, and while he knew the extent of his plan the assassin had yet to guess just why much less where the archer was herding her. Hoping to pull a fast one on her closest friend, the red head hopped left instead of her normal right, fighting to discombobulate whatever plan Clint had up his sleeve. Unfortunately that was the wrong move.

Just as she sent her body into a graceful spinning twist an arrow exploded over her head sending a net crashing down around her and successfully trapping her within its weave "Ugh," the woman grumped "I honestly thought I had you that time."

"Please," Clint scoffed with a dismissive wave "if there's one thing I know I'm good at, finding my opponents weakness and using it against them."

"Getting awfully cocky, aren't we?" Black widow queried one delicate eyebrow raised sardonically.

Clint merely grinned impishly in retaliation of said death glare "Hey, you beat me at everything else, I'm going to take what I can get and enjoy the fact that at the very least I can always win at tag."

Black widow considered sticking her tongue out, but quickly labeled the action as petulant before settling on turning her back to the archer with an indignant huff. Clint however was unfazed as he enjoyed a gut busting laugh loaded with sheer enjoyment. It wasn't often that the man got to see THE Black Widow flustered and frustrated, but it amused him every single time. As the archer opened his mouth to shoot what he hoped would be something to rile her up more, he was interrupted by his phone buzzing at his side.

Pursing his lips in mild confusion the archer grabbed his phone and pressed the home button on his iPhone to see one simple line of text sent from their resident billionaire genius' phone.

 **Avengers Assemble.**

As one the trio practically ran from the training room and towards the sitting area where they had last seen Tony, Bruce Banner falling into step beside them while their minds reeled with what new challenge lay ahead.

There were many things that they expected, one was Loki standing in the living room over a possible injured or irate Tony. While still another expectation was Director Fury arguing with Tony over what was surely their newest mission, something they had seen so many times Clint could practically quote the age old fight (in truth he often would, most commonly after he turned off his hearing aids so he wouldn't have to listen and then sign the rest in ASL all the while rolling his eyes in thinly veiled tolerance). What they found though didn't even make it on their list, to be honest it wasn't even close to anything they expected.

For in the living room Tony Stark had surrounded himself with a chaotic mess of planks of wood, plastic bags of knobs and nails as well as countless papers. The man of Iron was sitting cross legged in the middle of it all and his face merely a pout of supreme aggravation as he glared at one of the papers currently clenched between two fists. The avengers paused, blinking slowly as they took in the scene while Clint cocked his head to the side one eyebrow rising towards his hairline.

"Uh…" Steve began his mouth twitching as mirth threatened to spill over.

"What's going on?" Bruce finally finished for him.

"What's it look like?" Tony grumped his eyes narrowing as he stared ever harder at the paper, leaning in close as if it held all the secrets of the universe "I'm putting together an entertainment center, thus Avengers _Assemble_."

"You want us," Natasha scoffed her own mouth giving away the intense amusement she was garnering from this "to help you assemble an entertainment center?"

Tony looked up from the paper giving her his most sarcastic _Duh_ glare "Yeah!"

"But," Steve coughed hiding the laugh that bubbled up from his gut "can't you just hire someone to…" a small giggle escaped before the Captain cleared his throat free of the urge " _assemble_ it for you?"

"Well yeah," Tony groaned "but Rhodey told me that he didn't think that I could assemble my own entertainment center because I don't know how to do" cue finger air quotes "mundane tasks by myself because I'm a spoiled rich kid."

"So what's the problem?" Natasha asked incredulously.

"The problem are these stupid instructions!" Tony finally bellowed crunching the paper up into a ball and throwing it across the room "I mean seriously, would it kill IKEA to make their instructions a little easier to understand?! Or do they take sadistic pleasure in setting up their customers to fail and sitting back to watch their meaningless efforts to build something that looks at least similar to the object they ordered in the catalogue?!"

Tony sat panting, his little rant leaving him breathless and more than a little aggravated while the Avengers stood in dumbfounded shock, each one staring at the inventor with varying degrees of confusion and of course amusement.

"Am I correct in assuming," Clint snickered as he struggled valiantly to compose his features into a more neutral expression "that you need our help to assemble this overblown TV cabinet because you," Clint snorted before coughing "can't figure out the directions?"

"I can figure them out!" Tony squawked as his bottom lip poked out in an indignant pout "It's just it's a lot to put together and I'm getting bored of sitting here all by myself, ok?!"

Steve merely gave a slow nod as silence once again reigned in the space before the Captain finally broke. It started with a snort, then grew into a giggle before suddenly the man who exuded calm and poise was doubled over stomping his feet as his face turned cherry red from oxygen deprivation. Gut busting guffaws resonated around the sitting area and became so infectious that the rest of the team could not hold in their own laughter.

Tony hunched over, his lip venturing out even further making him strongly resemble a sulky child "It's not that funny," he muttered picking at the material on his pants.

Natasha was the first to recover as her laughter slowly faded away only to be replaced by a barely repressed smirk "Actually it is," the assassin replied.

"Well if it's so entertaining for you," Tony huffed before gesturing around him "why don't you come down here and show me how it's done?"

Natasha pursed her lips in careful thought before sauntering down the steps into the wreckage "You're on,"

….

"I'm giving up," Clint groaned before falling backwards onto the floor spreading his arms wide "this is hopeless, IKEA has a conspiracy against the sanity of mankind."

Steve gave a hesitant nod his wide blue eyes scanning the paper in front of him "This is a job for…anyone other than me."

"So," Bruce looked up to glance at his team wearing goggles equipped with x-ray, night vision and magnifying lenses but still failing miserably at decoding the assembly instructions "what's plan B?"

"Hiring someone else to assemble it," Natasha growled.

"No!" Tony whined "that means that Rhodey will be right and I'll have to listen to him tease me about it for God knows how long!"

"Is that really so bad?" Bruce murmured wrinkling his nose as he adjusted the magnification of his goggles and squinted through the lenses "I mean, being hassled by Rhodey surely isn't as terrible as the level of torture we're currently enduring."

"Then you don't know Rhodey," Tony whispered in a haunted tone "he seems nice, but out of the two of us, he's the devious one."

Steve and Natasha traded looks of bemused curiosity before returning to their respective tasks until the tense atmosphere was broken by an agonized bark "That's it," Bruce snarled "no more! I'm going to Hulk out if I don't escape soon."

"Aw, come on guys!" Tony wailed "what's the point of being a member of the Avengers if you guys won't assemble?!"

"We assemble for interplanetary war," Steve snorted "we assemble to defend the innocent and defy tyranny, but…we do NOT assemble furniture."

"Cap's got a point there buddy," Clint stated holding up one finger from where he lay surrounded by paper and wood.

"Look, normal people do this every day," Tony spluttered "surely five highly skilled superheroes can do this?!"

"Can do what?"

The group looked up to see their resident Norse prince standing on the outskirts of the mayhem, a look of confusion etched across his chiseled features.

Tony was the first to reply, his pout clearly portraying the level of betrayal and maltreatment he was currently suffering from "We're trying to put together an entertainment center, but apparently the Avengers are not up to the task of helping their friend out by deciphering the assembly directions."

"Ah!" Thor gave a bright grin as understanding blossomed in his gaze "well then I shall assist you so to accomplish what mere mortals cannot!"

Clint snorted from his spot on the floor _"This oughta be good,"_ he signed to Natasha.

The assassin hid her grin behind her piece of paper as Thor stomped down to join them on the floor. Now all six avengers were seated on the plush carpet and analyzing the instructions with intense concentration. The Prince glanced at the paper, one hand elegantly reaching out to gather the others and arrange them chronologically. For about five minutes nobody spoke, allowing Thor the silence he needed in order to come to the inevitable conclusion everyone else had come to concerning the hopelessness of said endeavor. However they would be bitterly disappointed.

"Ah, this is simplicity itself!" Thor bellowed "Man of Iron, perchance you can assist me by handing me the plank on your right."

Within moments, Thor had accomplished more than the five Avengers had in the hours they had been sitting there, erecting the skeleton of the entertainment center and proceeding onto placing the shelves and preparing the class cabinet doors. Tony sat on the floor behind his coffee table, beating his head on the glass in despair while Steve looked on in shamed astonishment. Natasha appeared to be holding back tears and Clint had settled with pouting in the corner. Bruce was nowhere to be found, as he had vacated the room muttering about blond muscle bound idiots finding sense in something that not even two documented genii could do.

Within the hour the new entertainment center stood proudly in its designated spot, while Tony gave the finishing touches of placing personalized stickers on the glass windows "See," he crowed happily "now we each have our own cabinet for our favorite movies and we can just keep them in here so we don't have to keep running all the way down to our rooms to get them when we want a movie night!"

Natasha shot a glare at the inventor "I'm not watching anything in here," she pouted "just looking at that thing makes me sick to my stomach."

"I feel that," Clint muttered "I mean seriously, the guy who can't even get modern English right was able to put that together in forty-five minutes, and we were sitting here like clueless idiots trying to figure it out? Movie night with that thing would be like inviting your ex to an engagement party, sure you're having a great time, but you have to look at your failure the entire night."

Tony deflated more and more with each rejection until he finally cast pleading eyes at Steve, making the Captain cough nervously "Look Tony," he said in what he hoped was a gentle tone "I kinda get where they're coming from, but I promise I'll watch movies with you in here…eventually"

Tony pursed his lips before turning around and stalking out of the room "You guys are evil and rude…and I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Let's see how long that lasts," Natasha smirked.

"I give him an hour," Clint shot back.

"Oh please," Steve scoffed "you know he won't last five minutes."

To be honest, Tony didn't last even half that before he came back into the room ranting about his latest invention to anyone who'd listen. Though if anyone came over to the tower later that week they would notice a new entertainment center, though not the one that was assembled by the Norse prince. That one is currently on Thor's floor in his room as no one really went over to his quarters for movie nights. No, this particular one was delivered and assembled by an expert team of movers, and if anyone asked about where the old one went the questions were quickly stifled by a glare from a certain red haired assassin.

The Avengers are many things, but as they had discovered furniture assembly was not their forte which is to this day still a taboo subject and I suggest you never mention it if you value your life.

 **I hope you enjoyed this, please REVIEW and let me know what you think!**


	2. Laser Tag

**Hello again! Here we go with yet another chapter about the Avengers, enjoy!**

Steve had no idea how he managed to get here, and he wasn't even one hundred percent sure on how he had been roped into his current activity; but despite being dubbed by Tony as overly serious and boring the man had to admit that he was having fun, more than that he was having a blast. What were they doing? Well that could be summed up in two words.

Laser Tag.

It had begun with him returning to his quarters, rolling his shoulders and heaving a sigh as he pondered the sheer exhaustion the riddled his body. Not for the first time did Steve suddenly feel every bit his ninety years, though he knew it was more emotional and mental fatigue due to the super soldier serum keeping him seemingly eternally young. The man could not explain it, but the modern age wearied him in more ways than war ever could. Evil reigned in the streets making playgrounds and schools no longer a place of refuge for the children. Young men turned to violence, looting and pillaging, destroying entire cities over the deaths of petty criminals. Teen girls, far too young, dressed themselves in the scandalous clothes of their media idols and walked around looking much like underage prostitutes. Women were thrown in jail just for exercising their religious freedom, and men were put to death for standing up in defense of justice.

Steve was exhausted protecting a world that put itself in danger by choosing to forget basic moral law and ethics, and it was wearing on him.

However, despite the pity party that Steve was fully planning on throwing for himself, the man found instead a note taped to his bedroom door, along with a futuristic looking gun and night vision goggles all accompanied by a strange looking vest with odd plastic lights on the center and back. Peeling the note from the wood, Steven couldn't help the fond grin that slowly blossomed on his face as he read its contents.

 **This is it guys,**

 **Tonight we found out who the real Avenger is, meet down in the common area at 8pm sharp, and make sure you're suited up in the provided gear (Natasha, you can bring other gear…but nothing life threatening please). The rules are anything goes…except for POWERS (I'm talking to you Banner and Point Break) but other than that, go for it. As the old saying goes;**

 **Win if you can, lose if you must, but cheat…always cheat. (That is, if you can Cap)**

 **Let the games begins, and may the odds be ever in your favor (That's for you Clint)**

 **Tony**

Cocking his head Steve looked down at the odd looking collection of toys, wondering what they were and picked up the plastic firearm before pausing when his fingertips rasped against yet another note taped to the butt of gun. Unfolding the paper, Steve rolled his eyes even as he gave an amused snort.

 **Steve,**

 **This is a laser gun, used for the game also known as laser tag. The point of the game is to line up your laser with the enemy's plastic sensors on their vests, then you pull the trigger. Each time you're hit, you're out of the game for 15 seconds. The person with the most kills at the end wins the prize.**

Captain America nodded slowly as a grin blossomed across his face "This…is going to be fun."

… **..**

Natasha slunk around the corner, her laser gun held high as she peeked in all possible directions assessing the safest route before her lips quirked up in a confident smirk. Tumbling forward in a tight roll, the assassin paused behind the couch as she turned the gun around to once again scan her surroundings. A creak echoed in the living room making Natasha slowly turn at the sound, having chosen to forego the night vision goggles she was instead using the sound like a bat to locate her target.

Steve crept across the tiled floor of the kitchen, the captain also not wearing the night vision goggles as he hunted his prey. The smile he had been wearing since he had first read the note from Tony glinted in the darkness as keen eyes swept across the room. Slowly he walked past the breakfast island, wincing when his foot stepped on the first floor board that led into the sitting area making it creak.

Natasha burst from behind the couch, pin point accuracy nailing his chest with her laser making his vest burst into swirly lights and a mechanical voice announce " _Steve hit, now out of the game for 15 seconds…Score is…Natasha 1….Steve 0….Tony 0….Clint 0….Bruce 0…."_

"Typical," Clint muttered from his spot in the bathroom (his logic being that someone will eventually need to go pee, which then he will strike) "of course Natasha is the one who gets the first kill shot."

"Well she's not the one crouching behind a toilet…" a voice whispered behind the shower curtain.

Clint's eyes widened just as his vest lit up " _Clint hit, now out of the game for 15 seconds…Score is….Natasha 1…Steve 0…Tony 1…Clint 0…Bruce 0…"_

Tony leapt out of the bathroom cackling with glee as he ran out of the bathroom while Clint sputtered "Wha-what?! How did you get in here?! I checked the shower when I got in here!"

"That's for me to know and you to torture yourself wondering about!" Tony sang over his shoulder before suddenly giving an undignified girlish squeal.

" _Tony hit, now out of game for 15 seconds…Score is…Natasha 1…Steve 0…Tony 1…Clint 0…Bruce 1…"_

"Bruce!" Tony shrieked while petulantly stomping his foot "That was completely unfair!"

"It's laser tag," Bruce shrugged "besides, I know your habits, you always target Clint first. So all I had to do is find Clint and I would inevitably run into you."

"You're a jerk and I'm not talking to you anymore," Tony pouted stalking away as the numbers on his chest finally counted down to zero.

"Oh, and Tony?" Bruce called.

"What?"

Clint swung around the door and aimed his gun at Tony earning another scream from the engineer while Bruce cracked up laughing "Just thought I'd tell you that Clint isn't dead anymore."

" _Tony hit, now out of the game for 15 seconds…Score is…Natasha 1…Steve 0…Tony 1…Clint 1….Bruce 1…"_

"You guys are jerks!"

Suddenly a body rolled into the hallway the gun laser being the only clue to his being there, and squeezed the trigger three times making three indignant cries echo in the darkness _"Tony hit…Bruce hit…Clint hit, now out of the game for 15 seconds…Score is…Natasha 1…Steve 3…Tony 1…Clint 1…Bruce 1…"_

"Seriously?!" Tony screamed "that's just…just…LOW!"

Steve chuckled his deep baritone bouncing off the hallway walls "Come on boys," he grinned "I thought this was a game?"

"Hey," the engineer paused his features becoming more offended by the second "why isn't anyone else wearing the night visions goggles?"

Bruce smiled apologetically "I have natural night vision because of…the other guy."

Tony slowly turned to Clint and the archer shrugged "I was trained to work in the dark, what's the point, right?"

Steve shrugged "I never used them in the war, and I work better without the added bulk on my face."

"Plus, you know the super soldier serum probably helps," Clint snickered.

"I'm just a regular guy surrounded by freaks," Tony pursed his lips as his vest counted down to zero, and then raised his gun "This is going to feel awesome."

Steve's eyes widened as he realized he had tarried too long in enemy territory and turned to flee just as he heard three Avengers take out their righteous fury _"Steve hit…Steve hit…Steve hit, now out of the game for 15 seconds…Score is…Natasha 1…Steve 3…Tony 2…Clint 2…Bruce 2…"_

"Thanks guys," Steve deadpanned his bottom lip poking out in a pout as he stalked away.

"You know what," Clint murmured.

"What?" Bruce and Tony replied.

"I think we should forge an alliance," Clint smiled slowly "we could beat them by uniting."

"Defeat Natasha and Steve..." Bruce muttered as his brown eyes widened with inspiration.

"Captain America and Black Widow," Tony echoed "we could actually get a win against them!"

"And show them that regular guys can be hardcore too," the archer crowed.

The three men turned to each other giving a firm nod "Let's do it," came the unanimous response.

…

Natasha grinned in the dark, knowing full well that victory was still within her grasp. It had been well over an hour since she last heard the announcement from her vest about the others. Steve was hunting her, she could feel it. She wasn't even thinking about Thing 1 and Thing 2, much less the dingbat billionaire. She had a serum enhanced super soldier on her tail and the former assassin felt her blood race with excited anticipation.

Natasha would be lying if she said that the thought of a good fight with a worthy opponent didn't make her giddy. True enough, she wasn't like most women. Most women thought about staying in fashion and their latest boyfriend as their ultimate thrill. The Russian enjoyed such things, and often found time to go have fun at the mall with Clint. However she knew that one of her favorite things was a good spar.

Sneaking forward the assassin crept into what was the training room, her keen eyes searching the chamber before finding the red laser poking through the pitch black signaling the Captain's presence. Steve knew she was coming, he had been waiting here as bait to his own trap. As one the two warriors came ever closer to each other, each one composing their plan of attack.

However neither were able to carry out their plans as suddenly a strange wire looped around both their ankles hoisting them high in the air. Shaving cream sprayed them from all sides while glittering confetti rained down sticking to the foamy white globs. Natasha screeched as she thrashed about searching desperately for a knife that could cut the reinforced steel holding her aloft. But a robotic voice cut through the disarray.

 _Natasha hit…Natasha hit…Natasha hit…Steve Hit…Steve Hit…Steve Hit, now out of the game for 15 seconds…Score is…Natasha 1…Steve 3…Tony 4…Clint 4…Bruce 4…"_

"YES!" Tony screamed boogying his away in a jubilant dance across the floor as the lights came on revealing the conspirators.

"We got them," Bruce followed his jaw hanging slack as he looked up at their dangling prey appearing very similar to a little boy "we actually got them!"

"And we're ahead in the game to boot! Which mean…We WIN!" Clint crowed from his spot in the rafters.

Tony fist bumped Clint grinning like a fool the entire time before Bruce cleared his throat "Guys, I think we're forgetting something."

The duo turned to face their brother as their smiles slowly withered from their faces when they noticed the grave look the scientist was giving them "What?" Clint quavered.

Bruce merely sighed before pointing one finger skyward "We're eventually going to have to let them down, or they're going to get them down themselves."

Clint's eyes went wide as he turned to Tony "You don't happen to know how to make really good fake identities, do you?"

"Possibly," Tony coughed.

The archer nodded as he grabbed the billionaire and Bruce, dragging them out of the room "Good, because we're going to need them and every minute of head start we can get."

"That's right Barton," Natasha hissed as she began to saw at the cable wrapped around her ankle "you'd better run, because when I catch you, you're going to wish you were dead!"

Tony gulped as he looked over his shoulder to the Captain only to see a seething soldier who was practically steaming with righteous fury "Uh, Clint,"

"What?!"

"RUN FASTER!"

"WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

"Not if you start running!"

"I AM!"

"Just shut up and MOVE!"

 **How'd you enjoy that? Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	3. Daycare Part 1

**Here we go, with yet another chapter!**

"Clint!" Natasha screamed over their coms as she fell to her knees when the tower was rocked by a violent explosion.

At first static was her only reply, before the archer's fuzzy voice broke through slightly distorted by distance and the thick cement walls surrounding the assassin "I'm fine,"

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows, her years of experience dealing with Clint clueing her into the subtle undertones lacing his answer. The minute grunt of pain along with a slight hitched breath, these were the details that told Natasha that no, Clint was not fine and was probably close to majorly freaking out. He needed backup, something the Russian was more than happy to provide.

"I'm on my way,"

"Avengers, roll call," Rogers' breathless voice sounded strained as if he too were gritting his teeth against the effects of injuries taking their toll.

"Banner, present," Bruce's voice was a groan, the lilt of the animalistic growl that so commonly accompanied his counterpart slowly fading as he returned to his human state.

"Winter Soldier," Bucky didn't sound tired, or even hurt, his voice was the clipped tones of a soldier doing what he did best "present and accounted for."

"Thor," the Asgardian boomed into the coms making all he wore them wince "currently making mincemeat of my foes!"

"Loki," sulky, that was the best description for their ally who had been drug out of his prison cell to assist them in their latest endeavor "present and entirely displeased to be accounted for."

The group waited for the last member to call in with his usual snark and snap, but the charismatic billionaire never did. Rogers felt his jaw clench as he sent up silent prayers that Stark would eventually chime in, saying something sarcastic about how he fell asleep out of boredom of the all too militaristic roll call. Instead silence crackled in their ears, shooting the tension sky high as the avengers felt anxiety writhe in their stomachs like a snake.

"Stark, call in!"

Rogers waited, biting his bottom lip before barking into his com again "Tony!"

Static buzzed until Tony's voice breathed into their ears, a whispered mask of agony that hissed through the com "…Help…me…"

As one the team burst from their positions, using the tech Stark had installed into their uniforms to triangulate Tony's position. Banner shifted back into Hulk, knowing that he would regret the migraine later while Clint jumped down from his perch and sprinted as fast as his battered body would allow. Natasha leapt over all debris in her way, her mind focused and her resolve steely as she ran towards her fallen teammate. A slow beeping alerted each member that they were nearing their target until they all skidded into the same hallway to pelt down it. Eventually the tracker gave a shrill tone indicating they were right outside where Tony would be, and Steve slid to a stop in front of the steel door simultaneously performing an impressive roundhouse kick that slammed the door off its hinges allowing the team entrance. What they found sent them all reeling in shock.

Iron Man lay on the floor in an empty chamber occupied by one simple pedestal in the center of the room, and floating inches above it was a strange looking gem that crackled an electric yellow. Captain America knelt next to the deathly still armor, his heart clenched as he took in its powered down state.

"Tony," he spoke giving the metal suit a shake "come on man, answer me!"

"Get…get away…" the whisper in the metallic tone that Stark's voice took when inside the suit sounded odd, almost as if it weren't Tony inside at all.

"What?" Steve leaned in close straining his ears to understand the soft tone hissing from beneath the gold faceplate.

"Th-the…crys-stal…crystal…is danger-ous…"

The armor gave a twitch giving evidence of what must surely have been Tony convulsing inside of it and Clint looked between two of his closest friends "Well what are you waiting for, get him out!"

"Wait," Steve clenched his jaw hard enough to make his teeth creak "Tony is trying to tell us something,"

"Well whatever it is, I suggest we take him and go," Loki muttered his green eyes watching the gem with knowing wariness "there's something about the energy that stone is giving off that makes me extremely…uncomfortable."

"Aye," Thor echoed with a nod "I do not wish to tarry long in this place either."

Cap nodded his agreement, looping his arms around the metal waist at his feet before the gem suddenly gave a heavy pulse that sent all to their knees as the floor began to vibrate "What's going on?"

Loki exchanged a look with Thor before pursing pale lips "Long or short version?" the dark headed prince asked Steve.

"Short!"

"It's about to explode…"

"WHAT?!"

Before another word could be spoken the gem shot out sparks of energy that grabbed any all things within a ten foot radius of it, which included the Avengers, making the warriors in question give startled yelps of both pain and shock. A yellow glow enveloped their frames, electric vines pinning their writhing forms on the floor, as the stone began to glow ever more brightly before it seemed to become a miniature sun that lit every corner of the chamber. Agonized wails built into shrieks as muscles shrank, tendons constricted and bones withered.

It was over in under a minute, but it had felt like an eternity to the group enduring it.

On the other side of the coms Nick Fury's eye was widening to an incomparable size as he listened to voices of the Avengers scream over the speakers of the screen. His fists clenched as he whirled on Maria Hill and barked out her orders.

"Gather a team and get agents down there, I want our team out of that place as quick as possible!"

"Yes, sir!" Maria Hill turned to walk away another agent attending her as she dictated further commands "Inform medical that they will be receiving the Avengers shortly, ensure that they are prepped for surgery should it prove necessary."

"Yes ma'am," the agent snapped a smart salute as he rushed away to follow his directives.

Soon the Avengers would be back on the helicarrier, but unfortunately no one expected the form in state in which they would arrive. Hours later, Director Fury could only stare with his jaw hanging slack at what was formerly his elite team.

To put it simply, the Avengers were now four year olds.

Granted they all still had their memories, which was a blessing considering Fury didn't want to deal with a bunch of screaming toddlers who were incapable of being reasoned with. However, despite still knowing who they were and the fact that they weren't at their correct ages, it seemed the team were still very much affected by the emotions and characteristic tendencies often seen in that age group. Case in point, Tony's reaction when he first saw Fury after their transformation.

Tony couldn't explain it, he knew who he was and he knew what Shield was and precisely who ran it, but when he first saw Fury he couldn't help the overwhelming urge that came over him. His four year old self was thoroughly freaked out by Fury's stern exterior, a part of the way he glared at people and peered down at him reminded him far too much of the cold and distant father who had broken his heart and even his spirit as a teenager. Tony felt his shoulders begin to tremble as his heart froze over and started to thud heavily in his chest, his bottom lip wobbled and with the smallest of distraught hiccups Tony had a meltdown.

In short, he began to cry.

Steve's jaw fell open and Clint signed desperately to Tony asking if he was ok. Natasha shifted uncomfortably where she stood while Thor, Loki and Bucky all exchanged looks of helpless anxiety. It was Bruce who saved the day, wrapping his little arms around Tony in the sweetest hug that only children are capable of giving.

"It'th otay," he lisped making the less stern agents stop and coo at the adorable scene "he'th not scary,"

Tony had little fists scrubbing at his face as he desperately tried to calm down but only manage to stand there take shallow shuddering breaths which resulted in a second wave of heart wrenching sobs. "H-he l-looks like my D-d-daddy!" he wailed.

Fury jerked back as if the billionaire genius had physically slapped him "What do you mean, son?" he asked in as gentle a tone he could muster whilst kneeling down to Tony's level.

"Y-you look mad," Tony stuttered daring to peek up over his fists only to wince and hide again "he always l-looked at me like it was m-my fault, am I in trouble?"

"In trouble?" Fury repeated, for once in his life well and truly flabbergasted.

"I'm sorry!" Tony burst, fresh tears spilling over chubby cheeks "I didn't know the stone would do this, it's my fault!"

Heartbroken wails echoed in the rafters of the helicarrier main deck, and Fury surreptitiously took a peek around him guilt knotting in his gut at the agents watching the engineer's little meltdown. He wasn't surprised to see most people studiously focusing on their computers, while others valiantly tried to do their assigned tasks but were every few seconds swiping at their nose or eyes with little sniffs in between. With a sigh, and know that his reputation was going to take a dive for doing this, the man gathered Tony up in his arms and patted him soothingly on the back.

"You didn't do a thing wrong," he rumbled "no one is blaming you, so you don't have to cry, I'm not mad."

Tony leaned back, casting melting chocolate eyes onto the already flustered director "Promise?"

A sigh was his reply before Fury grumbled "I promise."

Shaking his head the Director set Tony back down only to watch in mild amazement as the child suddenly developed an unexplainable attachment to him, or to be more accurate his right leg, looking up at him with big brown eyes. Bruce had resumed his protective stance next to the billionaire, even going so far as to hold his hand while Clint and Steve quickly gathered around to pat him on the head and murmur encouraging words.

"Director,"

Fury jumped, slightly startled when he was suddenly addressed by the toddler version of the Black widow "Yes Natasha, what is it?"

"What do we do now?"

The man groaned when the pint sized assassin voiced the question that had been running a marathon around his brain for the past two hours, and he was no closer to finding an answer now than when he had first wondered that same thing "To be honest? I have no idea."

"Honestly," Loki huffed with a petulant pout "the answer is so obvious even a simpleton like you should be able to figure it out."

"Oh really," Fury sneered whirling on Loki, all care and tenderness gone from his voice as he used his new height to his greatest advantage by looming over the half-blood prince to successfully intimidate him "and how do you figure that?"

Loki shrunk down, his hands nervously fidgeting with his shirt before he met the director's glare with a rebellious gaze "Well the stone was _obviously_ magical in origin, quite frankly I'm surprised none of you have considered consulting the one person who could tell you the most about the stone and its effects!"

"And that person would be?"

The Norse Prince stomped his foot in a mild temper tantrum "Me, duh!"

Fury scrubbed his face with one hand, suddenly feeling far too depleted of the coffee that was necessary to fuel the sanity required to handle this situation "Right," he muttered before straightening up and barking over his shoulder "someone get me Coulson!"

"Already here Sir,"

Fury turned around to see the middle aged man standing right behind him and, not for the first time since Coulson was recruited, wondered just how he did that "Right, I'm putting you in charge of the brats,"

Coulson cocked one eyebrow opening his mouth to debate said order before suddenly shrugging his shoulders and resigning himself to his fate "Yes, Sir. Anything in particular that you expect me to do?"

"The helicarrier is no place for children, regardless of who they are," Fury replied in professional tones "but we can't just take them anywhere either. I'm entrusting you to finding a place where they can lay low like normal children. If word gets out that the Avengers are children, we'll have every piece of scum on this planet crawling out of their rat holes to try and wreak a little revenge, it's your job to make sure that doesn't happen. So until we can find a cure…"

Fury let the rest of the statement drop, cluing in Coulson to the meaning behind it "Right," the man sighed "I'm on babysitting duty."

"Relax Coulson," Agent hill smirked as she walked up to pat a consoling hand onto the agent's shoulder "at least you get to spend more time with Cap,"

"Not quite how I pictured hanging out with Captain America, I gotta say," Coulson deadpanned making Maria chuckle.

"Regardless, you're dismissed until further instruction. I'll provide transport down to ground level and a safe house where you can watch the kids." Fury barked.

"Well that's great and all, but what about during the day?" Coulson queried "I have multiple missions that I'm running that require my attention and often my assistance out on the field."

"There's this wonderful new invention Coulson," Maria Hill snickered "it's called Daycare."

"Whoopee,"

 **As you can see, this is only Part 1, I hope you enjoyed it and please stick around for the next parts!**

 **REVIEW**


	4. Daycare 2

**So here is Part 2 of Daycare, I hope you enjoy it.**

Bethany rolled over, her nose wrinkling in distaste as she burrowed into her pillow to block out the sound of her alarm clock. Of course as per usual, the dreadful screeching was not to be drowned out, and with a sigh of resignation, the young woman began her day.

Coffee was a must, straight black with a dash of sugar to give the boost she needed. Pressing the Brew button on the machine, her mouth stretched as she gave a jaw cracking yawn and ambled into the bathroom for a shower. In no time at all she had washed, dressed and was working on putting her hair in a conservative bun fit for her upcoming work day. Bethany worked as a teacher, and not just any kind of teacher, she worked at a daycare. She prided herself in her work and was often pleased to find her students thriving in the classroom. Today though was a very different day than what she was used to.

The day before she had received a call from a client requiring a childcare provider capable of making house calls. This was not what unusual as the daycare Bethany worked for often sent Teachers to various client's homes to care for and teach their children. With the advent of parents losing faith in the public school system, the home has once again become a classroom for recent generations. Bethany didn't mind the day away from the classroom, honestly she found the occasional foray out into the world beyond the school refreshing. So to say she was somewhat eager to begin her day would almost be an understatement.

Her current client's name was a man by the name of Phil Coulson, he told her that he required a teacher to watch his children as he needed the ability to duck out of the house to attend to work matters. Bethany smirked softly as she ran a brush through her long blonde hair. She had experience with parents who tried to stay home with the kids as much as possible and juggle a full time job as well, judging by the fact that Mr. Coulson said nothing about his wife, he was probably a single dad who was only recently thrust into the job of caring for his children 24/7. He sounded very professional, if a little hesitant over the phone, so Bethany safely assumed he worked either in an office or maybe even within the government.

Giving her hair one final twist and jamming just two bobby pins on either side, Bethany leaned back and surveyed her work. Smiling with a nod she walked out of the bathroom, put on her shoes and nabbed her purse as she walked out the door. Bringing up her Maps app on her phone, the young woman punched in the address given and tapped on the button to Start Route. Yes, Bethany decided with a firm nod, today was going to be a good day.

…..

"But I'm hungry,"

Phil sighed as he looked down into watery brown eyes "Tony, you just had breakfast."

A small pout accompanied the puppy dog eyes "I want more breakfast,"

Phil sighed, unable to combat the hypnotic power held within those chocolate orbs "Tony…" he pleaded "you and I both know that too much food will give you a tummy ache and ruin your appetite for lunch."

"But I'm hungry!" the child insisted.

"Phil said no, Tony!" Steve yelled in a childish command one chubby little finger sternly pointing at his friend.

"But Steve…" Tony whined his pout becoming more pronounced.

Suddenly the doorbell rang cutting off any more debate concerning Tony getting food "Just wait right there, I'm going to get the door."

"I don't understand why we need a nanny," Loki groused from where he sat in the corner holding a book that was nearly the same size as him "though we are in the bodies of children, we still retain our memories, and are more than capable of taking care of ourselves."

"Yeah!" Clint chorused from where he was eating his breakfast, cheeks covered in cinnamon oatmeal "We can take care of ourselves!"

"Oh yeah," Phil smiled with a fond shake of his head "I can tell,"

Turning back around to face the door the agent approached it with a brisk walk and a smile ready. Opening the portal, the man found a young woman with the professional appearance of a teacher and a pretty smile that instilled trust "Hello, you must be Bethany,"

The woman nodded and stuck out a hand "That's right," she said her voice accented by a slight southern twang "and you're Mr. Coulson?"

"That's me," Phil smiled "why don't you come inside and meet the kids?"

"Thank you," Bethany ducked inside walking down the foyer and into the main area, taking in the grandeur.

She could tell just by looking that this family was well off, probably not rich, but certainly comfortable. An enormous living room lay to her right, decorated with tasteful furniture that seemed to invite you in and bid you to sink into the plush chairs and couches. It was cozy, not like the modern furniture recently that made you uncomfortable just by looking at it. With the fireplace that was currently lit with a merry fire and the walls completely covered by countless bookshelves, it was certainly a chamber that pulled you in for guaranteed relaxation.

Beyond that she found the dining area and kitchen with a large oak table and a breakfast island separating the two, the kitchen was filled with sunlight provided by large bay windows set in a breakfast nook off to the side. Bethany smiled softly as she felt her tense shoulder muscles suddenly relax. Yes, she decided, she could work here.

It was then that her attention was drawn to the sheer amount of children occupying the room, she instinctively pulled a head count and gave a mental whistle at the number. Eight, eight four year olds. Wait…what?

' _These can't possibly be all his children,'_ Bethany though with a perplexed frown before her countenance suddenly clear with comprehension _'He adopted them, that's so sweet!'_

Turning to her newest client, Bethany pursed her lips in awe as she struggled to contain her heartfelt tears "You are such a kind and wonderful man."

Phil slowly turned to face the woman, his features blank with confusion and mild concern "Oh…okay…"

"Are you our babysitter?"

Bethany jolted slightly when she was awoken out of her reverie and glanced down to see a small red headed girl looking up at her with curious albeit wary eyes "I'm not a babysitter, I'm a preschool teacher."

"Great," another voice sighed sarcastically making her turn to see a little boy with brown hair playing with Legos "I love people trying to teach me things I already know."

Bethany felt her brain whirl in wonder as she began to ponder just how advanced these children may be, and what strategy she should use to challenge them positively before more voices chorused into the conversation garnering her attention.

"Like you know anything," a black haired boy sneered snatching the Lego creation away from the brown haired boy's grasp.

"Hey!" dark brown eyes melted and a bottom lip poked out in indignation "what is it with you and stealing other people's things!" he wailed.

"I never stole anything of yours," black hair tossed as the little boy stuck his tongue out.

"Tell that to Clint, jerk!"

Suddenly a golden haired child galloped forward and gently tugged on a lock of black hair "That isn't nice brother, give him his toy back."

"It's not a toy!" the brown haired boy whined before pausing and rethinking his answer "It is a toy, but I'm not playing with it, I'm just…fiddling."

Bethany felt her eyebrows hit her hairline at the vocabulary usage between the four year olds, the black haired boy however was oblivious to this as he began to cackle "Admit it! You're playing with toys like a baby! Do you want your toy back baby?"

The brown haired boy looked down at his feet, his little fists entangling themselves in his shirt while he began to give little sniffles. Another blond boy wearing a Captain America shirt walked over and planted himself between the two dueling toddlers "Stop being mean to Tony, Loki! You're acting like a big bully!"

"Yeah," yet another blond boy walked into the fight, his ears adorned with purple hearing aids "Tony is smarter than you, tougher than you and…and…and you stink!"

Loki gave a derisive snort, crossing his arms and cocking an ebony eyebrow "You wound me with your witty repartee."

The blond boy with the hearing aids pouted and the other boy placed a hand on his shoulder while casting a fierce gaze at Loki "Being mean to Clint won't help you, we're all stuck here so you might as well deal with it."

"I don't have to deal with anything," Loki spat "I don't need you to solve this problem, I can take care of myself!"

"Oh yeah, you've done a good job of that!" the blond boy scoffed "If you're so smart why haven't you figured it out yet? Face it, you need us because you can't handle being alone."

"Shut up, Steve, what would you know of independence? You've been depending on other people to fight your battles for years!"

Bethany's mind was numb with shock, their word usage went beyond advanced…it was stunning. Plus, some of the things they were saying, these weren't the terms used by bickering toddlers, these were words that insinuated life experience. The kind that was impossible for four year olds to have. Who were these children, and why did she have the sinking feeling that she had signed on to something bigger than she had originally intended.

The fighting grew into a cacophony with Phil giving an apologetic smile to Bethany before wading into the shouting match. The young woman gave a silent sigh as she once again began to view her surroundings when she noticed one more child, this one hiding under the table with his fingers jammed in his ears and his eyes screwed shut. Recognizing this as a form of distress Bethany quickly rushed over to the table and with gentle hands pulled the small child out from under the polished oak so to snuggle him. The brown haired, green eyed boy clung to her, breathing deeply as his small frame trembled.

Bethany pursed her lips in careful thought, wondering what it was that had gotten the boy so worked up before facing the children once again, raising her voice to be heard over the shouting "Oh my," she lilted in a firm voice "I guess no one wants to have any of the treats that I brought with me."

The fighting immediately stopped as the boys identified as Tony and Thor perked up at the mention of food "What kind of treats?" Tony queried with a cock of his head.

Loki rolled his eyes muttering under his breath about certain people denying they're not a baby yet still acting like one, and Bethany frowned at the young boy's attitude. Approaching him so to ensure that he knew she was talking to him "I have special treats, but only for kids who know how to be big boys and big girls. I also have a treasure box with prizes that you can win by earning green and gold stickers, but if you don't want to play and have fun with everyone, you don't have to."

"I want to have fun with everyone," a little boy with shaggy brown hair and a long sleeved shirt with one glove covering his right hand approached her and slipped his hand into hers.

Bethany fought back a coo at the sweet behavior, instead kneeling down to address him "You most certainly can, what's your name."

The child played with her fingers shyly for a moment before murmuring softly "Bucky,"

"Well it's nice to meet you, I'm Miss Bethany,"

Bucky graced her with a smile "Hi,"

"I'm Tony!" Bethany fell backwards, the little one still clinging to her in her arms as the first brown haired boy tackled her to the floor with happy exuberance.

"I'm Steve," the blond boy protecting Tony stated.

The child with hearing aids grinned "I'm Clint,"

The red headed girl tugged on the young woman's shirt "I'm Natasha,"

The golden haired child grandly bowed making Bethany giggle "I'm Thor and this is my brother Loki,"

"I'm not your brother nitwit," Loki snarled unhappily "I'm adopted remember?"

"Doesn't change the fact that you are my brother,"

"Whatever, moron,"

"Um," Bethany looked down when the child snuggled under her chin whispered "I'm Br-Bruthe,"

Immediately Bruce blushed at the lisp, ducking his head in shame and the teacher ruffled his head "I'm pleased to meet you."

"I'm sure you would be," Tony shrugged picking up his Legos while glaring warily at Loki before casting a cheeky grin at Bethany "I mean it's not every day you get to babysit the Avengers, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sure…wait, what?!" Bethany's jaw dropped as suddenly every question she had asked herself made sense.

"She didn't know already?" Tony squeaked slowly giving Phil a guilty glance.

The Agent in question glared at the child making Tony whimper slightly "No, she didn't,"

"Oops,"

 **I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Please REVIEW!**


	5. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

**So a random thought that made me giggle maniacally to myself whilst I drove home from the store.**

 **Enjoy!**

Tony strode into the common area, flanked by Bruce and Steve his mouth going nearly as fast as his mind (if that was even possible, though for Tony it could be) "But think about it," the billionaire rambled with the zeal of a happy child "the possibilities are limitless!"

"Tony, I have thought about it," Steve shot back though without any real heat as his mouth quirked up in a fond smile over the all too familiar argument "and for the millionth time…I don't need you to make me my own suit of armor!"

"Aw come on!" Tony pouted as his voice took on a wheedling tone "You already act like America's knight in shining armor by being such a boy scout, why not enjoy something fun that makes things go 'splodey?"

Steve slowly rolled his head to cock an eyebrow at his best friend all the while his mouth was twitching at the barely repressed laughter "Makes things go 'splodey?" he coughed.

"Cap is perfectly capable of doing that himself," Bruce grinned "I heard the guy once punched a tank unconscious,"

"That's a myth," Steve mock glared at the scientist.

"No I'm pretty sure that's true," Banner shot back with a light chuckle.

"At any rate," Tony cut waving his arms so to garner their attention back to the main point "my offer still stands and it will probably be built whether you want it or not, because even if you never admit it, I at the very least still know that the idea is too awesome to forget."

The soldier and scientist both laughed as Anthony Stark grinned smugly before the smile fell from his face and a look of curious mischief lit his chocolate brown eyes. The object of his focus? One Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed and ear buds jammed into his ears as he nodded his head to whatever was playing on his mp3 player. Sneaking over to stand behind the archer, Tony grabbed the earbuds away from Barton, snatching away the player in tandem as it was carried by the cord it was connected to before putting them into his own ears. The genius listened for a moment, before his face screwed up and he clamped his lips shut making his cheeks flush red as oxygen deprivation took hold.

"Tony!" Clint shrieked indignantly bouncing up to stand on the couch cushion, his knees sinking into the cushions and his hands gripping the backrest.

The billionaire maintained his position, and Steve looked between the two unsure whether he will be breaking up a fight or joining Tony in another, probably soon to be infamous, shenanigan. That particular question was soon answered for him as Tony finally couldn't hold it in any longer, his face a deep magenta when he opened his mouth and allowed boisterous guffaws to resonate within the vast chamber. Tears collected in the corners of his eyes, and one foot tapped helplessly on the floor as muscular arms embraced his now aching stomach. Doubling over, the billionaire could only shake his head as the laughter grew into breathless wheezing giggles eventually sinking to the floor so to quiver with the mirth afflicting his frame.

Steve knelt next to the gasping man before gingerly taking one of the earbuds and putting it in his ear before cocking his head in confusion over the lyrics "…Girls just want to have fun…?"

"WHAT?!" Bruce squawked lunging forward to grab the other earbud as Tony melted into yet another round of uncontrollable giggles "Clint, are you seriously listening to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?"

"It's an addicting song," the archer pouted.

"Yeah, for a fourteen year old girl," Anthony grinned evilly.

"Guys," Clint whined "come on, it doesn't even belong to me its Natasha's Mp3 player, she just lets me borrow it from time to time."

"Oh yeah right," Tony scoffed incredulously, suddenly recovering from his laughing fit "and why would she let you do that?"

"Because she knows I always end up losing or breaking mine," Clint shrugged.

Steve pursed his lips, carefully pondering whether he should believe the blond or not but he was distracted by the lyrics to the song "I'm not really sure what to think at this point," he coughed even though his mouth was twitching ever more and more frequently "but I think I can at least agree with Tony on one thing…"

"Oh," stark asked one eyebrow rising towards his hairline as he smiled in the soldier's direction "and what is that?"

Cap paused a moment before the dam burst and the man joined Tony on the floor in gut busting guffaws making the billionaire crack yet again. Clint groaned as he turned back around so to sink further into the couch in a sulky silence all the while two of the Avenger's founding members snorted and giggled in puddles on the tiled floor. Bruce tried to keep a straight face, but even he could not remain unmoved when Captain America was currently sitting on his butt with his head thrown back and happy tears streaming down his face as he laughed.

Eventually the trio calmed down to snickering, snorting fools while a pouty aura practically dripped from the couch "You guys done yet?"

Tony drew in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled before grinning in Clint's direction "Yes, I do believe we are, though you aren't going to live this down for years."

"And by years," Bruce cut in "I think Tony actually means…decades."

"I told you, the Mp3 player is Natasha's!" Hawkeye burst in an agonized wail.

"Prove it!"

Clint glared at the engineer, his brain backtracking and scrambling to come up with a chain of evidence that would suit Tony Stark before a voice cut through his thoughts "Stark!"

The four men looked up to see an irate Black Widow standing over them, hands on her hips her green eyes flashing. In short, she was fuming "What are you doing with my Mp3 player?!"

"Uh…" was Tony's very intelligent answer.

Natasha zipped down her arm merely a flash as she snagged her player from their clutches and holding it protectively against her ample chest "I trust Clint with borrowing my possessions, but I don't remember giving _you_ permission to take what's mine."

Bruce and Steve merely blinked before meekly clambering to their feet and taking a few steps backwards, successfully allowing Tony to shoulder all the blame (and thus all the fury) of Natasha "Well, we were just talking about how Clint was listening to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,"

"And just what is wrong with that song?" Natasha crossed her arms with a huff, her lips pursing into an unhappy pout.

"Uh…n-nothing," Tony stammered as he jumped to his feet and began backing away slowly "you know what I just remembered that I think I left something burning in the forge. You know hot metal, it can't just…you know…hammer itself."

With all the grace of a scalded cat, Tony made his escape out of the sitting area. Leaving Steve and Bruce casting each other a panicked gaze before they too beat a hasty retreat mumbling incoherent excuses for their quick departure. Natasha blinked slowly, one side of her mouth quirking up in a sly smirk before surreptitiously turning to face her partner.

"Clint," she drawled turning the name into a two syllable word.

"Yeah?" the couch squeaked.

Natasha leaned over the headrest of the couch before slapping the Mp3 player down on the cushion "You owe me,"

Clint slunk further into the cushions "Yeah," he agreed.

"Clint," the assassin sang.

"Yes?"

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, seriously?" Natasha asked giggles lacing her undertones.

"It's a _seriously_ addicting song!" Clint cried out.

The Russian gave a decidedly unladylike snort all the while shaking her head "At any rate, try to keep your stuff a little closer to your many pocketed vest. Because I can't always be there to bail you out of hot water."

Clint pouted, but nodded his acquiescence "Fine,"

"Hey, Clint,"

A groan was her answer "What?!"

"Do you have California Gurls on your music list too?"

A blush stole across his features "Possibly," was the muttered reply.

A high pitch giggle of delight echoed among the rafter before the assassin made her exit, leaving Clint sitting by himself on the couch. For a while, the man merely sat and sulked. His muscular arms folded tightly across his pecs while his bottom lip poked out in prominent displeasure. Until suddenly an idea sparked in his brain that perked him up considerably. Standing up, the archer placed his hands on his hips and threw his head back.

"Hey J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

" _Yes, Sir?"_

"I have a question," Clint grinned looking quite smug.

" _And what might that be?"_

"How easily could you, say…hack into the music lists of Steve, Bruce, Tony and Natasha and add a song?"

" _It would be very simple Sir, as I have access to all the Avenger's music files,"_

"Good," Clint practically purred "I want you to add a specific song and program it into a repeat cycle every four or five songs."

" _Which song would you like Sir?"_

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,"

" _And which version would you prefer?"_

"All of them,"

 **Short, but I hope you found it funny.**

 **Please REVIEW!**


	6. Daycare 3

**Here is Part 3 of Daycare, I hope you enjoy it!**

Bethany was beyond speechless, she was gob smacked. The Avengers? Seriously?!

The young woman released the breath she had been holding before once again surveying her new charges. She only knew as much about the Avengers as the rest of the public. She knew that Tony Stark (Genius, playboy philanthropist) was Iron Man. She knew that Bruce Banner (foremost scientist in the study of Gamma radiation) was the Hulk. Bethany winced at that thought as her overactive imagination immediately concocted an image of a four year old temper tantrum of Hulk proportions. Yeah, she decided, better to play it safe with this one and keep him in a good mood.

Beyond those two however, she was a little in the dark. Her knowledge on the little red head and the boy with the hearing aids was limited to their superhero identities as Black Widow and Hawkeye. She had very little comprehension who this Bucky person was (history class was a tad fuzzy) and she knew that Thor was an alien. Loki blew her away however, because everyone knew that he was the one who had orchestrated the intergalactic attack on New York a few years before. Loki had made sure everyone saw his face and knew him as the perpetrator (she theorized that he was the type to cause trouble to gain attention, and probably thrived on the negative attention given, a strategy would be needed to get him on the same page as everyone else). Why he was with the Avengers was a question she didn't quite have an answer to. However at this point Bethany feared for her poor brain which was close to having a mild breakdown at the sheer enormity of the situation she had unintentionally signed on for.

"So it's safe to assume that you're not their father?" Bethany finally murmured, a slight daze still coloring her undertones.

"Nope," Coulson smiled sheepishly a slight shake of his head.

The man had been sitting next to her at the dining room table while she processed, his companionable silence both welcome and comforting as she rearranged her brain so to be able to handle this very different and new kind of work day "So," she finally sighed giving a firm shake of her head to clear away the rest of the cobwebs "what do you know about childcare?"

"Does Supernanny count as a reference point?"

"…No…"

"Ah," Coulson nodded before chuckling softly "then I guess I would be 'up a creek without a paddle' as it were."

Bethany paused, opening her mouth in a small attempt to console the man but to no avail as the words that came tumbling from her mouth were simply "Yeah, pretty much."

Phil found himself laughing at the young woman's candor "Well, at least I can say that I'm confident I'm leaving them in capable hands."

Bethany whirled to face the man, her blue eyes wide as her heart swelled with the unexpected compliment. Giving a weak smile, the young woman nodded and murmured "Thank you Sir,"

"You're welcome," came the simple reply, but it was more than enough for the teacher.

From the corner of her eye, Bethany froze as she saw Tony reaching up to the stove top to turn on one of the burners making the young woman jump out of her seat and swat his hand away "Are you out of your mind?" she bellowed "I don't care how old you actually are, no way I'm letting a four year old use the stove!"

"But I'm hungry!" Tony whined.

An aggravated groan echoed behind her as Phil stood up to loom over Tony with his arms crossed "And I already told you that you can't ruin your appetite for lunch. You had a big breakfast, how you can possibly still be hungry is beyond me."

"When did they last eat?" Bethany queried.

"They ate around eight-thirty in the morning," Phil supplied, an uneasy smile lighting his features as he kept one eye on the rambunctious engineer.

The young woman gave a thoughtful nod, calculating in her head when lunch would be best "Then I can serve lunch at 11:45," she murmured.

"Sounds great," Phil nodded before standing suddenly to dust his pants off in soft pats "well its time that I go. I have a very important mission that I must take care of."

"You're leaving?" the young woman asked bending down to scoop Tony up into her arms, more so to ensure he doesn't make another move towards the stove.

"Yes," Mr. Coulson nodded "I work with the organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. and with the Avengers out of commission we have to work extra hard to keep the world safe while also looking for a way to get them back to their original ages."

Bethany nodded numbly watching as the man walked briskly through the living and towards the front door "Alright guys," he called as he collected his briefcase and keys "I'm leaving you with Miss Bethany. Be kind to her, and do not cause any problems. The last thing I want is to come back to the house on fire and Child Protection Services putting you all into the system."

All blanched at the thought, except Thor of course he did not know the meaning of this 'system', even Loki paled at the idea of being put in an orphanage among human children. Eventually the man granted them a warm smile and then hustled out the door leaving eight four year olds staring at the door in an awkward silence. Bethany drew in a calming breath, her heart racing at the idea that she wasn't watching just any children but de-aged Avengers.

What could she possible do?!

These kids had the minds of adults, and to be honest the teacher couldn't even begin to think of how to entertain them. Do they watch movies? No, four year olds need to expend energy, and besides no matter how old they are in their heads their attention span is super small…or is it? Bethany groaned internally when her inner rant was suddenly interrupted by a soft sigh. Turning her head, the young woman watched Tony lay his head on her shoulder, little fingers playing with the buttons on her shirt while his chocolate brown eyes reflected something she had seen all too often at her work. Abandonment.

Bethany didn't know much about Tony Stark, but to be honest she didn't need to, she knew all she needed to know by looking in his solemn gaze. In her years as a teacher Bethany learned one thing, children had an entire world of information to tell if you knew how to read it. Their eyes were the most telling, the emotions reflected in their innocent orbs displayed their environment in unabashed honesty that often gave her clues as to what she was dealing with. Tony's eyes? They revealed resignation to being left, sorrow that it was happening again and anger that he wasn't going with.

Giving a smile to the boy, Bethany at least knew what she must do, cuddling Tony the teacher walked into the living room "Alright everyone," she spoke brightly garnering the attention of the gathered children "I would like you all to join me on the floor and we're going to play a game."

A head of bouncy brown curls and green eyes peeked out from under the table and Clint stood up from where he had been playing with the Lego blocks with Steve. The children slowly came into the sitting area, Natasha keeping a wary eye on Loki while Thor clutched said Asgardian's hand drawing him near to their newest guardian. Steve walked over, but gasped as if he forgot something and ran back to where he was only to kneel down beside the loveseat that was up against the wall under a window. After a few minutes of the blond whispering softly the last child finally emerged, shy brown eyes cast down even as his hands fidgeted with his glove.

Eventually all were sitting down, and Bethany placed Tony on the floor beside her "So we're going to play a game that is a lot like Hot Potato, but instead of people getting out when the music stops, you have to tell us something about yourself."

Steve immediately grinned "I know Hot Potato!"

"Oh good," Tony sighed dramatically before casting a cheeky grin "I was worried Hot Potato was before your time, saves us time explaining it to you!"

"Shut up, Tony!" Steve pouted though his blue eyes twinkled with good humor.

"I don't know what this Hot Potato is," Thor grumbled "is it a food or a game?"

"How can you be such an imbeci-" Loki sneered before he was cut off by Bethany.

"It is a game that is named after a food," she rectified giving Thor a wink "but I'll explain how you play."

Jumping to her feet, the teacher jogged over to her bag and dug around until she found a bright orange nerf ball and then rejoined the children "Basically we will all sing the Hot Potato song while passing around the ball, and when we stop whoever is holding the ball will tell us something about themselves. It can be your favorite food, your favorite animal or anything else you want to tell us."

"What is the purpose of this?" Loki groused.

Bethany shrugged with seeming carelessness "I just wanted to get to know you. If I'm going to be watching you I want to know about what you like."

Loki's lip curled at the young woman "A prison warden has no need to know her prisoners."

"Well then it's a good thing that I'm a teacher, huh?" Bethany smirked satisfaction warming her heart as she watched Loki's hard glare soften to merely a suspicious pout.

Tony burst into giggles before reaching into her lap and grabbing the ball "Let's play!"

The Asgardian trickster sighed before giving a nod. Honestly he couldn't understand these imbeciles. They all retained their memories, none of them had suffered any form of amnesia that would cause them to revert and yet they were all acting like children! Even the Russian assassin had been caught cuddling a china doll earlier that day and rocking it in her arms. Loki wasn't clueless, he understood that returning their four year old bodies, regardless of the memories in their heads, would make them susceptible to the emotions and tendencies of said age group. However Loki hadn't expected everyone to be affected so deeply. Part of the trickster wanted to join in and play, to revel in childlike innocence that had long been lost to the sands of time. Life unfortunately is a cruel teacher, and Loki had learned long ago to hide his heart far away from prying eyes.

The trickster slid a wary glance over to their current guardian. He didn't know this woman, but he wouldn't be surprised if she was just another grown up with an angle to play, no matter how nice she may seem to be. Nope, he didn't trust her one bit.

Bethany gave her kids a bright smile before giving a loud clap of her hands "Alright, who's going first?"

 **Sorry it took me so long, but what with work and the holidays, it was very hard to find time to write. I hope you enjoyed this latest installment!**

 **REVIEW!**


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